ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
EXERCISE VARUNA – 2021
The 19th edition of the Indian and French Navy bilateral exercise ‘VARUNA-2021’ is scheduled to be conducted in the Arabian Sea from 25th to 27th April 2021.
From the Indian Navy’s side, guided missile stealth destroyer INS Kolkata, guided missile frigates INS Tarkash and INS Talwar, Fleet Support Ship INS Deepak, with Seaking 42B and Chetak integral helicopters, a Kalvari class submarine and P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, will participate in the exercise. The French Navy will be represented by the Aircraft Carrier Charles-de-Gaulle with Rafale-M fighter, E2C Hawkeye aircrafts and helicopters Caïman M and Dauphin embarked, Horizon-class Air defense destroyer Chevalier Paul, Aquitaine-class multi-missions frigate FNS Provence with a Caïman M helicopter embkared and Command and supply ship Var. The Indian side will be led by Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Nau Sena Medal, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, while the French side will be led by Rear Admiral Marc Aussedat, Commander Task Force 473.
The three day exercise will see high tempo-naval operations at sea, including advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises, intense fixed and rotary wing flying operations, tactical manoeuvres, surface and anti-air weapon firings, underway replenishment and other maritime security operations. Units of both navies will endeavour to enhance and hone their war-fighting skills to demonstrate their ability as an integrated force to promote peace, security and stability in the maritime domain.
On completion of exercise VARUNA-21, to consolidate accrued best practices and enhance interoperability, Indian Navy’s guided missile frigate INS Tarkash will continue to exercise with the French Navy’s Carrier Strike Group  from 28th April to 1st May 2021. During this period, the ship will take part in advanced surface, anti-submarine and air-defence operations with the French CSG.
VARUNA-21 highlights growing bonhomie and showcases increased levels of synergy, coordination and inter-operability between the two friendly navies. These interactions further underscore the shared values as partner navies, in ensuring freedom of seas and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
MoRTH and DRDO to collaborate for geo-hazard management
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways  and Defence Research and Development Organisation , Ministry of Defence signed a framework Memorandum of Understanding  today in New Delhi to strengthen collaboration in the field of technical exchange and co-operation on sustainable geo-hazard management. The MoU was signed by Secretary MoRTH Shri Giridhar Aramane and Secretary DRDO Dr. Satieesh Reddy.
It has been agreed that MoRTH and DRDO will co-operate in the areas of mutual benefit including, conceptual planning of integrated avalanche/landslide protection schemes for all weather connectivity in snow bound areas of our country including pre-feasibility of tunnels and viaducts, planning and designing of various avalanche/landslide control structures, association in preparation of proposals/DPRs for tunnels including geological/geotechnical/terrain modeling and other related aspects of tunnels etc. This initiative will ensure safety of road users on NHs in the country against the adverse effects of landslides and other natural calamities.
DRDO is an apex organization of our country working on various cutting edge technologies. Defence Geo-Informatics Research Establishment , a premier laboratory of DRDO, is leader in the development of critical technologies for enhancing combat effectiveness with a focus on terrain and avalanches. The role and charter of this establishment is mapping, forecasting, monitoring, control and mitigation of landslides and avalanches in Himalayan terrain. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways , Government of India is responsible for development & maintenance of National Highways across the country. It has been agreed by both the organizations to utilize the expertise of DRDO  in providing sustainable mitigation measures to damages caused by landslides, avalanche and other natural factors on various National Highways in the Country. The areas of collaboration are as under:
- Detailed investigation of the existing critical avalanches/geo hazards such as landslides, slope instability, sinking problems etc.
- Planning, designing and formulation of sustainable mitigation measures for geo-hazards for NHs including tunnels.
- Supervision or monitoring during implementation of the mitigation measures.
- Any other services, as may be required.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
136.66 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
India's Active caseload currently stands at 84,565, lowest in 569 days
Active cases account for less than 1% of total cases, currently at 0.24%; Lowest since March 2020
Recovery Rate currently at 98.38%; Highest since March 2020
8,706 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 3,41,71,471
7,145 new cases in the last 24 hours
Daily positivity rate  less than 2% for last 75 days
Weekly Positivity Rate  less than 1% for last 34 days
66.28 cr Total Tests conducted so far
Ministry of Finance
DRI seizes 114MTs of Areca Nuts worth Rs. 8.61 crore smuggled into the country through Tuticorin and Chennai Ports
Based on specific information that Areca Nuts in huge quantity are being illicitly imported into India from Jebel Ali, Dubai and Singapore in containers by mis-declaring the goods as “Compounded Animal Feed” and Barley, through Tuticorin and Chennai port, totally five containers  were intercepted and taken up for investigation. On examination of the said containers, it was found that the gunny bags stacked in the first two rows contained the declared cargo “Compounded Animal Feed” as well as “Barley” and the remaining gunny bags contained “Areca Nuts”.
The total quantity of 114.372 MTs of smuggled Areca Nuts totally valued at Rs. 8.61 crore along with the cover cargo viz., Compounded Animal Feed and Barley were seized under the Customs Act, 1962 for violating the provisions of the Customs Act. The goods of Areca Nuts are classifiable under CTH 08028020 which attracts Customs Duty @ 100% on the prevailing tariff value of $9093/MT and hence, in order to evade payment of appropriate Customs duty, the gang attempted to smuggle the Areca Nuts by way of concealment in the guise of ‘Compounded Animal Feed’ and ‘Barley’.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the import of all 05 containers were arranged by a person from Chennai. Swift follow up action initiated, led to apprehension of the said king pin who has arranged smuggling of all the consignments by way of concealment. He was arrested and remanded to Judicial Custody.
Further, DRI Chennai Zonal Unit had earlier seized 232.349MTs of Areca Nut, valued Rs.11.72 crore concealed along with various cover goods and imported from Indonesia in the last few months. In the financial year 2022-23, about 3670.19 MT of areca nuts valued at Rs 143 crore has been seized by the various units of DRI.
Busting of such a huge racket of Areca Nut smuggling by DRI, not only saved the revenue of public exchequer, but also safeguarded the interest of domestic industry especially of those farmers, cultivators and traders whose livelihoods are entirely dependent on Areca Nut business.
Ministry of Steel
The Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste and Officials from the Ministry of Steel conduct cleanliness drive.
The officials and employees of the Ministry of Steel have conducted a cleanliness drive with the Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development , Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste in the premises and out skirts of Udyog Bhawan in New Delhi today.
Shri Kulaste exhorted the Ministry of Steel staff to give the Swachhata Abhiyaan their all. The Minister then led the team of Ministry of Steel officers and staff to the perimeter of Udyog Bhawan and helped clean the area.
The Minister also spoke with the business owners outside of Udyog Bhavan and urged them to make it a practise to maintain the area around their establishments clean.
Senior officers and employees of the Ministry of Steel have taken part in the cleanliness drive.
All the Ministries of the Government of India are celebrating Special Swachhata Abhiyaan 2.0 from October 2nd ,Gandhi Jayanti, till the end of the month of October.
Ministry of Defence
Mrs Anita Nain, President Army Wives Welfare Association , Southern Command inaugurates Girls Hostel at Army Law College
:Pune , August 13, 2021
A state of the art Girls Hostel was inaugurated at the Army Law College, Pune by Mrs Anita Nain, President Army Wives Welfare Association , Southern Command on 13 August 2021 in the presence of Lieutenant General JS Nain, Army Commander, Southern Command. The event was attended by Senior Officers of the Army, Principal and Faculty of the Army Law College. Built at a cost of Rs 7.76 Crore, the hostel was constructed in a time span of 24 months. The five storeyed hostel has capacity to accommodate 165 girls. It has amenities like gymnasium & modern dining, recreational hall and library. The hostel has been constructed on the land donated by Radha Kaliandas Daryanani Charitable Trust to the Army to establish the college. The construction of the girls hostel conforms to the Armys’ vision of ‘Quality Education at Affordable Cost’.
Ministry of Textiles
Centre taking significant steps to promote handloom sector and welfare of weavers
Under National Handloom Development Programme and Raw Material Supply Scheme, financial assistance is provided to the eligible handloom agencies/weavers
The Ministry of Textiles is implementing the following schemes to promote the handloom sector and welfare of weavers across the country.
- National Handloom Development Programme;
- Raw Material Supply Scheme;
Under the above schemes, financial assistance is provided to the eligible handloom agencies/weavers for raw materials, Common infrastructure development, marketing of handloom products in domestic/overseas markets, loans at concessional rates, scholarship to the weavers’ children and support in indigent circumstances to Awardees etc.
To facilitate growth of handloom workers, the Government has taken following steps:
- The Government of India announced a special economic package viz., AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan in 2020 for boosting economy of the country and making India self-reliant. Relief and credit support measures were announced for various sectors. Benefits of these reliefs and credit support measures to revive their businesses were available to eligible weavers and Handloom organizations.
- The States and UTs have been requested for their State Handloom Corporations/Co-operatives/Agencies to make purchases from the finished inventory available with the handloom weavers.
- Steps have been taken to on-board weavers on Government e-Market place to enable them to sell their products directly to various Government Departments and organizations. So far, about 1.5 lakh weavers have been on-boarded on the GeM portal.
- Under Concessional Credit/Weaver MUDRA Scheme, financial assistance is provided as follows:
- Margin money assistance
@20% of loan amount, subject to maximum of Rs. 25,000/- per weaver.
@20% of loan amount, subject to maximum of Rs. 20 lakh  per handloom organisations.
- Interest subvention upto 7% for 3 years; and
- Credit Guarantee on loans for 3 years
There is no scheme for providing free electricity to the handloom weavers. However, Solar Lighting Units as part of Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata  items are being provided under National Handloom Development Programme .
This information was given by the Minister of State for Textiles Smt. Darshana Jardosh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Special Service and Features
Meth Crystals& Hydro Cannabis worth Rs. 2.30lakhs seized by Chennai Air Customs at Foreign Post Office.
Based on information, Chennai Air Customs intercepted two postal parcelssuspected to contain some narcotics substance, which arrived from Netherlandsand USA at Foreign Post Office, Chennai.
The first parcel which arrived from BorculoNetherlands and addressed to Chennai based person. On cut opening the parcelone opaque silver colour plastic cover was found in which a plastic pouch containing white crystal powder was found. The powdertested positive for Methamphetamine.Total,15 grams of Methamphetamine crystals valued at Rs. 1.5 lakhs were recovered.
The second parcel had arrived from St. Portland, Oregon and addressed to a Salem  based person. The parcel was declared to contain Academic documents. On opening the parcel one black envelope was found in which a white cover containing semi dried leaves having strong ‘weedy’ smell similar to Cannabis of high quality most likely “Hydro Cannabis” were found concealed.Total 100grams of Cannabis of foreign origin valued at Rs. 80000/- was recovered.
15 grams of Methamphetamine Crystals and 100 grams of Hydro cannabis, totally valued at Rs. 2.30 lakhs were recovered and seized under NDPS Act, 1985.
Further investigation is in progress.
This is stated in a press release issued by the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID19 Vaccination: Myths Vs. Facts
No scientific evidences found linking COVID19 vaccination with infertility in men and women
NEGVAC has recommended COVID19 vaccination for all lactating women
There have been media reports expressing concerns regarding infertility due to COVID-19 vaccination amongst population of reproductive age. In the past few days, certain media reports have highlighted the prevalence of various superstitions and myths in a section of Healthcare Workers  and Frontline Workers  including the nurses. Such misinformation and rumours were observed to be spreading in the community during the vaccination drives earlier too e.g. polio and measles-rubella.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare  has clarified in the FAQs posted on the website  that none of the available vaccines affects fertility, as all vaccines and their constituents are tested first on animals and later in humans to assess if they have any such side effects. Vaccines are authorized for use only after their safety and efficacy is assured.
Furthermore, in order to curb the prevalent myth regarding infertility due to COVID 19 vaccination, the Government of India has clarified  that there are no scientific evidences suggesting COVID-19 vaccination can cause infertility in men and women. The vaccines have been found to be safe and effective.
The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19  has recommended the COVID-19 vaccination for all lactating women, terming it as safe with no need to stop or pause breastfeeding before or after the vaccination .
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister attends DGsP/IGsP Conference- 2021
The Hon’ble Prime Minister attended the 56th DGsP/IGsP Conference at Lucknow on November 20-21, 2021. The Conference was attended by 62 DGsP/IGsP of States/UTs and DGs of CAPFs/CPOs in Lucknow. More than 400 officers of various ranks attended the Conference virtually from IB offices across the country.
The Prime Minister participated in the discussions and gave valuable suggestions during the Conference. In the run-up to the Conference, various core groups of DGsP were formed for holding discussions on key aspects of national security such as, prison reforms, terrorism, Left Wing Extremism, cyber-crimes, narcotics trafficking, foreign funding of NGOs, drone-related matters, development of border villages, etc.
Addressing the valedictory session of the Conference this afternoon, the Prime Minister called for analysis of all Police related incidents and developing case studies, to make it an institutionalised learning mechanism. He hailed hybrid format of the Conference as it allowed free flow information between various ranks. He suggested development of inter-operable technologies which would benefit Police forces across the country. He called for constituting a High-Power Police Technology Mission, under the leadership of Union Home Minister to adopt future technologies for grass root policing requirements. Citing the importance of technology in the lives of general public, the Prime Minister gave examples of CoWIN, GeM and UPI. He appreciated the positive change in Police attitude towards general public, particularly post-COVID. He also suggested positive use of drone technology for the benefit of the people. He stressed on review of SMART Policing concept introduced in 2014 and suggested development of a roadmap for its continuous transformation and institutionalisation of the same in Police forces. To tackle some of the routine challenges faced by Police, he urged to involve highly qualified youth to look for technological solutions through hackathon.
The Prime Minister also awarded the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service to IB personnel. For the first time, as per the directives of the Prime Minister, IPS officers from various States had submitted articles on contemporary security issues, which added more value to the conference.
Earlier, the Conference was inaugurated by the Union Home Minister on November 19, 2021, wherein he had awarded trophies to the three-best Police Stations of the country. Home Minister participated in all the discussions and offered his valuable suggestions and guidance.
Special Service and Features
Chennai Air Customs seizes 23.5 kgsSharkFins being smuggled to Dubai at Airport.
Today based on intelligence that some wildlife/marine products were likely to be smuggled to Dubai, a special alert and vigil was maintained by Customs officers at the departure terminal to nab the smugglers.The officers noticed that two passengerswere moving in a suspicious manner with a carton box each in departure area. A close watch was kept on their movement and they were intercepted after they had cleared immigration and were proceeding towards security check. From their boarding passes and passports the passengers were identified as one Sathackkathullah, 52 of Chennai and one Abbas, 29,of Tiruchirappali, who were bound for Dubaiby Fly Dubai FZ 8518. Theywere questioned about the contents of their carton box. As they were evasive in their reply they along with their checked in luggage were brought in for detailed examination. On opening the carton boxes, three white gunny bagswerefound inside and on opening 9.5 kgsfrom one gunny bag and 14kgsfrom two gunny bags of suspected wild life product similar to shark fin were recovered.
The suspected shark fins were got examined by Wild Life Crime Control Bureau officials who certified that same as “processed shark fins” and there was a probability that these belonged belong to a CITES listed species. Moreover, as the export of shark fins is prohibited as per the Foreign Trade Policy. Total23.5kgsshark fins valued atRs. 16.5 lakhs were seized under Customs Act, 1962 read with FT  1992.
Shark fin Soup isan expensivedelicacy served in high end restaurants abroad. The Chinese consider it a symbol of prosperity and conferrer of good health. The practice of finning is causing the collapse of shark populations around the world.
Further investigation is under progress.
This is stated in a press release issued by the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport.
Ministry of Defence
74th Infantry Day Celebrations on 27 October 2020
Pune: 27 Oct, 2020
To honour the supreme sacrifice of the Infantry in fighting the Pakistani raiders in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, the 74th Infantry Day was celebrated with traditional solemnity and gaiety following all Covid-19 precautions.
Major General Navneet Kumar, General Officer Commanding, Dakshin Maharashtra & Goa Sub Area, being the senior most infantry officer in station, laid the wreath on behalf of Lieutenant General CP Mohanty, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, at the National War Memorial, Pune, in remembrance & gratitude towards all members of the Infantry fraternity, who made the supreme sacrifice for the honour and safety of the nation.
October 27 is celebrated as Infantry Day by the Indian Army as it was on this day that an Infantry Company of the First Battalion of the Sikh Regiment was air lifted from Delhi to Srinagar to liberate Kashmir from the invading tribals who were supported by Pakistan Army. This action was ordered after Maharaja Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession, acceding Jammu and Kashmir to India.
In his message, the General Officer Commanding- in-Chief, Southern Command, complimented all Infantrymen for their devotion towards duty and indomitable spirit while working in trying and uncongenial environment. He acknowledged the tremendous contribution of Infantry in maintaining the sanctity of the nation’s borders. Infantry also popularly known as the “Queen of Battle” is the back bone of Indian Army and its soldier bear the main brunt in any battle. Operations in 1947 bear a testament to the perseverance of the Infantrymen as it was entirely an Infantry centric operation.
MI/PM
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Special Service and Features
G-20 : Neighbourhood Youth Parliament and G-20 Presidency celebrations
Thiruvananthapuram 25 February 2023
As a part of India's G-20 Presidency celebrations, the Nehru Yuva Kendra will organize the Neighbourhood Youth Parliament and General Conference on Monday  at 10 am at Ayyankali Hall, Thiruvananthapuram. The Neighbourhood Youth Parliament will have various lectures with the aim of creating awareness among the youth about the issues discussed at the G-20 summit.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs Shri V. Muraleedharan will inaugurate India's G-20 Presidency celebrations at 3 pm . He will also present the award for the best voluntary organization.
State Transport Minister Shri. Antony Raju will preside over the function. Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Smt J. Chinchu Rani will inaugurate Patriotic clubs. Shri. V. K. Prashant M. L. A., State Sports and Youth Affairs Department Director S. Prem Krishna IAS, Press Information Bureau Additional Director General Shri. V. Palanichami, IIS, Nehru Youth Center State Director Shri. K. Kunjahammed are among the others who will be felicitating the function.
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